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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25993909">Ex Libris Memoriarum</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowMage/pseuds/RainbowMage'>RainbowMage</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dungeons &amp; Dragons (Roleplaying Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Diary/Journal, Dungeons &amp; Dragons Campaign, Dungeons &amp; Dragons References, Gen, Homebrew Content</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 02:42:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,297</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25993909</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowMage/pseuds/RainbowMage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Wrath is my name.  You might be wondering who I am to claim to know the truth.  You see, I saw the truth with my own eyes and through my memories.  Call me a historian of sorts.  In any case, I am the one telling this tale of heroics so if you'd like, feel free to stay and listen...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Wrath's Journal 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Memories.  Unusual things are they not?  Changed by time, attached to some of the most powerful emotions, sometimes gone completely.  Enough philosophy though; let me get to the purpose of why I am writing.  History forgets.  History changes.  As for me, what I want is to chronicle the truth.  </p><p>Someone might wonder, “who are you to tell me what the truth is?”  So, perhaps I should tell you about myself.  My name is Wrath, one of three angels serving under my father, Ryund lord of dreams and nightmares.  Us three were born of divine magic from our father and our mortal mother Myriv, one of the chosen.  I know the truth of what happened.  I saw it with my own eyes and through the eyes of my mother, whose memories I was born with.  </p><p>My siblings Valor and Agony do not see much point in keeping a record of what happened, but personally I think it helps pass the time on boring days.  Few intrude in the dream realm, so gods know I have plenty of time to pass.  So, what I have done since my creation is watch the mortal realm and keep track of my mother’s adventures on the continent of Druash.  Sometimes, I even listen in on her conversations with father, unbeknownst to them.  It isn’t hard, seeing as I am telepathic, but that is beside the point.  </p><p>My point is that someday, centuries from now, I want the world to know the truth of what happened from the perspective of someone who remembers.  I’m not omniscient, and sadly was not born until after mother’s adventures started, so my memories are not perfect.  Unsurprisingly, my memories are clearer the closer it got to my birth, so sadly there are gaps in the details from the start until near when I was conceived.  Please forgive me then if some things aren’t entirely clear.  </p><p>I think I have given enough of an introduction at this point.  So, without any further ado, allow me to begin.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Wrath's Journal 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Before I continue with any more current events, allow me to talk some about my parents, Myriv and Ryund.  It isn’t every day after all that a mortal and an eldritch god marry.  </p><p>My father Ryund came from a place called the Far Realm, which is essentially the realm of madness.  Given what I have seen of it from father’s memories, the description is rather apt.  As can be imagined from someone who came from there, he was once an evil entity.  He terrorized the mortal realm for some time before being sealed inside of a figurine by a man called the Riddler, who my father hated to his very core.  </p><p>Father was trapped within the figurine for about nine centuries until a group of adventurers entered the place where the figurine was contained.  I never knew how, but they managed to destroy the figurine, freeing my father from his prison.  Along with the help of the Riddler, the adventurers sealed my father away again, though this time the enchantment was considerably less powerful.  </p><p>My father discovered a small hole in the enchantment which he used to slowly leak his essence out of the figurine over decades.  While by that point the Riddler had died, father decided to keep his escape as quiet as possible.  He’d lost nearly all of his power and did not not want to be trapped again.  So instead, he hid in the realm of nightmares until the time came that he felt he could return.  </p><p>He decided not to announce his return this time, however.  Instead he made his presence known only to one: a shardmind woman by the name of Myriv.  My father wanted to test to see how much power he had left, so he tried to give a nightmare to one who did not sleep.  For those who’ve never met a shardmind, they are beings of pure thought manifested in physical form.  They appear as humanoids made entirely out of crystal, almost always have psychic powers, and do not need to sleep.  What better person to test his psionic powers against than a psychic who did not sleep?  </p><p>So, my father made her sleep and gave her a horrible nightmare.  She dreamed that her mind was splintered into fragments and scattered to the wind, never to be sane again.  As a psychic myself, I can imagine how frightening a nightmare like that would be, but clearly it was worse for my mother.  </p><p>When she woke, she did not know what had happened.  All she remembered was her horrible nightmare and a tall hooded figure chuckling diabolically.  She contemplated this nightmare for months, eventually figuring out that the hooded figure had given it to her.  To this day I do not know where she found the courage to try and contact father, but she did.  </p><p>Father was surprised to hear from her.  He had expected to merely test his power, he never expected she would answer.  So, he went to her when she prayed to him.  Mother told him that she wished to be his follower.  As a god with no followers, how could my father say no?  Even though she offered herself willingly, father acted as though she had no choice in the matter.  He told her he had chosen her months earlier when he had given her the nightmare and that she was just one of many.  A lie, of course, but he was desperate.  </p><p>And so, from then on, my mother went into a psychic trance every night and traveled to the realm of nightmares to speak with her god.  He said it was to keep track of her progress in her psychic training, but I suspect the truth was he was lonely.  Regardless, the details of mother and father’s interactions early on are hazy in my memory at best.  I have bits and pieces of memories but nothing truly concrete.  </p><p>As far as my memory tells me, it was after half a century that mother and father began seeing each other more as friends as opposed to god and follower.  All I remember from the incident leading to that was mother backtalking him.  Thankfully, father was amused and not angry, and they ended up sharing a moment of laughter.  From then on, they were friends.  </p><p>More decades passed.  Again, my memories are hazy, but at some point during this time, my mother fell in love with her god.  Something about how he had always been good to her despite him acting the part of the evil god at times.  From what I know of father’s memories, she was right to think that way.  He thought her bold and disrespectful, heretical even.  Despite this though, bringing her to harm was utterly unthinkable.  He wasn’t going to hurt his only follower no matter how much she backtalked him.  </p><p>Regardless, at the time, my father could not return her affection, and told her as much when she confessed her feelings to him.  I remember vividly my mother’s face.  The pain.  The heartache.  He could have killed her and it wouldn’t have hurt as much.  This was not the only time he broke her heart though.  He did so two more times.  </p><p>The second time, she had decided that if he could not return her feelings she would at least try and make him understand them.  So, one night she went to him and asked him to take her hand and tell her what he felt.  Father peered into her mind and saw her intense love but did not understand it.  He did not understand her question either.  He took her literally and said he felt nothing but her crystalline hand.  As one can imagine, she was devastated.  Father did not know what he had done until he contemplated it for a while.  When he finally realized what he had done, he felt terrible and vowed to try and figure out what ‘love’ even was.  </p><p>The third time may have been worse.  He had studied the behaviors of the followers of the love god.  He watched how they prayed to their god and showed their devotion.  So, when he told mother he thought he understood, he asked her if ‘love’ was what they were calling religious devotion these days.  After that, mother gave up any hope of him ever understanding and never spoke of her feelings again.  </p><p>It wasn’t for another century that the subject was brought up again.  There was a span of a month where mother could not go to the nightmare realm.  She had duties to her psionic order to perform which kept her away.  During this time, my father could not help but notice how bored he was.  Without her there, he felt hollow inside and mere existence was painful.  Then, it hit him; he could not live without her.  This was what it meant to love another.  </p><p>When she returned, he told her how he felt.  He told her that he loved her.  Of course, she was overjoyed to hear it.  So, on that day, my father asked her to be his wife.  It was the only way he could figure out to show he truly meant it.  Needless to say, at this point, she accepted.  </p><p>At the time of my writing, my parents have been happily married for around a century.  Words cannot express how grateful I am that my father came to understand how to love.  If he hadn’t, well, I wouldn’t be writing now would I?  </p><p>Anyway, I remember almost nothing of the century leading up to the start of my mother’s adventures.  So with that in mind, the start of that is where I will begin, but even then my memories are not complete.  I remember bits and pieces and will do my best to record them.  If you are expecting a full coherent story however, I am afraid you will be most disappointed.  With that in mind, let me tell you how my mother’s adventures truly began.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Wrath's Journal 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When mother started her journey, she had no idea what she was in for.  Father came to her one night with a warning.  Followers of the Riddler had discovered who she was and discovered her location.  How that man still had followers after so much time is a mystery, but it was not a mystery mother wanted to solve.  She chose to flee the monastery of her psionic order, telling her master, Estrella, that she was going to be leaving for a long while.  </p><p>A month or so passed and she found herself in the kingdom of Shar at a tavern called the Hanged Giant.  It was here that she met the ones who would soon become her closest friends.  Festus, a half-dwarf carrying a large hammer who had a melancholy air about him and a strange familiar at his side: a seemingly sentient tea set that took the form of a small elephant named Winston.  Risa, a quiet human wizard who seemed too shy to say anything.  Finally, there was Redkap, a small, talking mushroom creature who seemed to be travelling with Festus.  </p><p>The four of them struck up a conversation, but soon were approached by a pair of scholars from the Academy of the Blue Halls, a magic academy in the kingdom of Urdan.  Strangely, the scholars knew all their names and asked them for help.  Of course, mother was wary, but was willing to listen to what they had to say.  </p><p>The scholars told the group of a plan to bring dragons back from extinction.  They did not say how they planned to do this, only that they needed to have a special book recovered from some nearby ruins.  Their motive, I am afraid has never been clear to me.  They had said something about magical imbalance in the world, but why dragons would fix this, I do not know.  All I know is that the group reluctantly agreed to help, thus beginning their time together.  </p><p>The details of how they found the book are lost on me, but when they found it, all of them had quite the shock.  The final page of the book read as such: “And thus let the Last Egg be interred here, lest the world of Men destroy that which it does not understand.  Only when One lays claim to this Tome shall it return, for that is when it shall be needed most.”  When Risa touched the final page, suddenly the book began to glow, and out of the pages came a rainbow-colored dragon’s egg.  </p><p>Needless to say, the entire group panicked when this happened, and they started bickering about what to do with it.  Eventually it was decided that they shouldn’t give the egg to the scholars and should hold onto it in secret for the time being until they thought of a better plan.  </p><p>The book and the egg were not the only things they found in the ruins though.  They also found a metal puzzle box brimming with the power of the wind god Galynn.  They attempted to open it but were unable to.  Mother insists to this day that it was magically sealed and that she could have solved the puzzle if given more time.  I am afraid I will likely never know the truth behind why the group could not open the box, but as details go it is of little importance.  </p><p>Once they had rested from their trek to the ruins, they went to Urdan and the Academy of the Blue Halls, where they were to meet again with the scholars.  The gatekeeper at the Academy told them they were expected.  Each person in the group had been asked after by six individuals whose names he refused to give.  Deciding it was a mystery for later, the group entered the Academy and met with the scholars.  They showed the scholars the puzzle box, who seemed entranced by it.  Sadly, they had no insight as to what it was, but instead told them that they should take it to the king.  </p><p>I have never personally met the warforged king, King K7 of Urdan.  All mother knew at the time was that the king had reigned for three hundred years and was well liked among his people.  Warforged, mechanical people powered by magic, are much like shardminds in that they do not age.  So with that being said, the fact that K7 had reigned three hundred years without revolution occurring spoke volumes about who he was as a ruler.  </p><p>Anyway, the group took a train up the mountain and arrived in the capitol city.  Why trains have never gained popularity outside of Urdan is beyond me, but that is of no relevance to my tale.  The capitol of Urdan mainly resides within the mountain.  Magic lights on the cavern ceiling mimic sunlight near perfectly.  Mother had been in the capitol a few times before, but never had she been so close to the palace.  </p><p>The palace doors were guarded by a pair of large, four-armed warforged, known among the people as NOBLEs, elite warriors in Urdan’s army.  To everyone’s surprise, the guards welcomed them to the palace.  Apparently, someone had sent word in advance of their arrival.  I wish I could describe the palace interior, but I am afraid I have not seen it in person or in memory, much to my dismay.  I have heard it is quite exquisite.  That is beside the point, however.  </p><p>When the group arrived, King K7 was already there waiting for them.  Beside him was his bodyguard, a goliath woman whose name I believe is Ursula.  As it was rather late if I recall, mother decided to jump right to the point and showed him the divine puzzle box.  Taking it from her hand, he did indeed take interest in it and attempted to solve it himself.  Much to mother’s chagrin, it took him mere minutes to solve the puzzle and open it.  </p><p>I am guessing that the puzzle box reacted to the king’s own divine magic.  Being high priest of Luxane, goddess of life and light, it is likely that K7’s magic was able to open it.  Despite mother being high priestess of Ryund, her divine magic is considerably weaker than K7’s is, so maybe that’s why she couldn’t open it.  Alternatively, the king could merely be better at solving puzzles than anyone in the group.  I will probably never know.  </p><p>How the box was opened is of little importance compared to what came out of it.  Out of the box came a pixie who identified itself as ‘Six’.  Six pointed to the group and told them that they were heroes.  What that meant exactly, no one knew.  All the sudden, the pixie went still and spoke: “The first of seven is now undone, though six before me lost their fun.  Should the seven be one again, the usurper, blind, shall no more reign.  But if the others stay sealed away, the end shall come, and it shall stay.”  </p><p>The words shook mother to her very core.  It did not take a genius to understand that the pixie had just spoken a prophecy.  A prophecy that implied the world’s demise.  Festus asked the pixie what the words meant, but the pixie did not know what he was talking about.  It did not remember any of what it had said or that it had said anything at all for that matter.  Mother tried to read the pixie’s mind to find out if it was lying.  What she found was most curious.  </p><p>The pixie’s mind did not seem complete.  It was as though it was just a fragment of a whole mind.  As such, mother could read nothing.  Its thoughts were broken and distorted beyond all coherency.  Now, at the time of my writing this, I know the truth behind why this was.  But with that said, what kind of storyteller would I be if I gave away all the secrets right away?  You will have to continue reading to find out.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Wrath's Journal 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Part of me wishes I could say that the prophecy Six spoke was the only one the group heard that week.  I wish this because of the adverse effect the other had on mother’s mental state for a time.  The group met the advisor of Rendan.  Rendan, being the kingdom of thieves, has very little along the lines of true monarchy.  Who is Thief King is decided by who is in possession of the Thief King’s Crown at the time.  As can be expected from thieves, it is constantly being stolen, therefore the Thief King changes every few weeks.  Because of this, the advisor of Rendan is essentially the true ruler.  He oversees diplomacy where the Thief King generally does not.  </p><p>International affairs aside, the advisor told the group about the prophecy of the Thief King.  How this came up I do not know, but that is not important.  The important part was what the prophecy stated.  The prophecy of the Thief King stated that the one thousandth Thief King would be the last one ever crowned.  </p><p>Given Six’s prophecy, mother, along with all her companions, interpreted this to mean that when the one thousandth Thief King was crowned, the world would come to an end.  The current Thief King was around the nine hundred eightieth, so if what they believed was true, the end was nigh.  </p><p>It was then that mother thought she knew what Six meant by calling them heroes.  They were the ones destined to halt the world’s end.  Believing this, mother grew melancholy since she knew that so many things could go wrong.  If the world was to survive however, failure was out of the question.  She felt the burden of the world on her shoulders.  The entire world’s hopes and dreams relied upon the group’s success.  This stress has never gone away, even at present.  With that said, she has channeled it into something productive. </p><p>After a rather heartfelt conversation with Festus, mother decided what she needed to do.  She would cling to what she fought for with her very soul.  She fought for eternity.  To spend eternity with her beloved.  In order to do this, there had to be an eternity to live in.  She was determined to stop the apocalypse no matter what it took.  </p><p>An amount of time unknown to me passed.  The group was staying at a tavern when they met a bard named Jags.  Six the pixie pointed at Jags and said that he was a hero as well.  After explaining some of what had happened, Jags agreed to join them on their quest.  Perhaps he wished to travel.  Perhaps he felt a sense of duty to the world.  I do not know why he decided to join them, but the ‘why’ matters not.  </p><p>While in that tavern, the group discussed finally what exactly they should do with the dragon egg.  After discussing several possibilities, they decided that they should take the egg to mother’s master, Estrella.  Estrella would keep the egg safe, not to mention that the monastery of the Order of the Star Glider was a very remote and hard to reach location atop a mountain.  So, they took the egg to the monastery, traversing the treacherous single path up the mountain.  </p><p>Estrella was understandably skeptical about the whole situation but agreed to keep the egg safe.  Additionally, she told the group about a vision she had.  It was vague as most visions tend to be, but she told them to go to a place a few mountains over.  There, they might find some answers.  </p><p>They traveled to the place in Estrella’s vision, and indeed they got some answers, but more questions were raised.  At this place, they met Silenus, a minor storm god.  I do not know much about Silenus other than that he was a mortal who ascended to godhood and is known for being indirect in his explanations.  </p><p>Indirect he was indeed for all he said was that there was more than one puzzle box.  He would not say what they were, why they were important, or where to find them all.  All he said was that it was important they find them.  Oddly, when he spoke to mother, he told her she was queen in more ways than one, refusing to say what he meant.  In one way she is the queen of nightmares, being the wife of the nightmare god, but that explained little. </p><p>There was more to the conversation, but I remember few of the details.  As it turned out, Silenus was responsible for the two scholars knowing who the group were.  He had disguised himself as the Academy gatekeeper who told them they were asked for by six specific people.  He refused to say who these people were, however.  </p><p>The final thing he said was where they needed to go next.  On the coast, there was an issue with pirates that needed to be dealt with.  Not knowing where else to go, the group went where they were told.  It was around this time that mother acquired an actual journal to write in.  As such, from now on my memories are slightly more detailed, but not by much.  Don’t worry, I will tell you when my memories become truly vivid.  For now though, there are pirates that need dealing with.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Wrath's Journal 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mother and her companions arrived at a port town and were quick to discover that there had been pirates roaming the bay.  They concocted a plan to board the pirates’ ship.  They would borrow a ship from a merchant in town and sail out into the bay.  When the pirates captured them, Jags would offer all of his cargo in exchange for him being taken safely to shore.  Unbeknownst to the pirates, the others would be hidden within the crates to ambush the pirates when the crates were opened.  </p><p>Much to my surprise, the plan worked just as expected.  The ambush was successful, and they killed all the pirates before they knew what was happening.  Well, before all but one knew what was happening.  One of the pirates, probably smarter than the rest, managed to fire off a signal before his death.  </p><p>Soon, three more pirate ships appeared on the horizon.  It was then that Jags had an idea.  When the other three ships were close enough, they fired the heads of the freshly slain pirates out of the cannons and threatened the same fate to anyone who did not surrender.  Once again to my surprise, the plan worked.  The other three pirate ships sailed off into the distance.  Mother thought making them run instead of killing them was a bad idea.  For all they knew, the fleeing pirates may return.  Jags said that he had wanted to avoid another fight if he could.  Fair enough I suppose. </p><p>So, with the pirates gone for now, the group decided that they wanted to keep their commandeered ship and christened it the Seven Completed.  They sailed back to shore to tell the town of their success.  To their surprise, they met again with the advisor of Rendan and had an amicable conversation.  He offered to make the group the official owners of the ship, to which they were most grateful.  </p><p>I am drawing a blank as to how the next events transpired unfortunately.  The next thing I remember is the group being on the road when the earth goddess Geonae appeared before them with a message.  An unknown god was gaining a significant amount of power from forcing people to sleep.  The group suspected my father at first, but mother was quick to tell them otherwise.  Geonae wished for the group to investigate a cavern where the magic was particularly strong.  </p><p>The group agreed to do the task in exchange for information.  So, they asked their questions and received an answer.  Each person in the group had been chosen by the Six to do a task that she was not allowed to tell.  </p><p>Perhaps here is where I should tell you about the Six if your knowledge of Druash religion is limited.  The Six are the six supreme gods of Druash who were said to have created the world.  Luxane goddess of life, Silnox god of death, Geonae goddess of earth, Magnor goddess of fire, Azulia god of water, and Galynn god of wind.  While there are many minor gods in the world such as my father and Silenus, the Six rule over all.  There is more to the story, but that is a tale for later.  </p><p>Religion lessons aside, Geonae was able to tell us for sure that mother was the chosen of Silnox, and her own chosen was Redkap, but she either did not know or did not say for the others.  Mother did not understand why the death god would have chosen her of all people, but felt it best that she not question the will of the Six.  </p><p>Anyway, with their questions answered for now, Geonae directed them to a cavern that appeared to be the source of whatever magic was making people sleep.  Within the cavern was an altar teeming with divine magic.  Festus and Redkap smashed the altar, believing that if they did it would solve the problem.  From the broken altar came a strange mist that surrounded them and put them all into a deep sleep.  Mother psychically called out to whatever entity was doing this and asked who they were.  The entity responded by saying she was her worst enemy: Mirren the goddess of dreams.  That was the last thing mother remembered before falling into a deep, magical sleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Wrath's Journal 6</h2></a>
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    <p>When the group ‘woke up’, they thought that they were outside the cavern and in the waking world.  It did not take long for mother to recognize however that something was wrong.  Normally, she has a psychic connection to my father that allows them to speak to each other always, even across realms.  I am not sure exactly what this bond entails, but mother described its severing as though part of her soul had been ripped away.  She cried out in her mind to father, but he could not answer her.  Never in her life had she felt so vulnerable, so helpless, as she did in that moment.</p><p>Unfortunately, then was not a good time for weakness, as Mirren showed her ugly face in short order.  Perhaps ‘garish’ is a better descriptor however, seeing as everything turned to a cacophony of clashing colors, if you will excuse my alliteration.  </p><p>Sadly, I know little of the details of the battle that ensued but have a distinct memory that Mirren’s goal was to put the world in an endless slumber so she could rule over everything.  Cliché and uninspired if you ask me but a problem nonetheless.  I also recall clearly my father appearing before Mirren, more furious than anything I have ever known.  </p><p>And so, he fought the dream goddess to the death.  As a divine being myself, I know the divine law: a god may not kill another god.  It was impossible, unthinkable, and yet my father succeeded, piercing her through the throat with one of his tentacles.  </p><p>It was rather ingenious how he did it, actually.  You see, he wears a shard crystal around his neck: a crystalline lock of hair from his wife.  The killing blow was dealt with that crystal, a piece of mother, so very technically, it was not him who killed the goddess, but mother, a mortal.  When he told her this, she was utterly dumbfounded, but had little time to think about it as something strange happened.</p><p>Light began to pour out of father and his robe changed color to bright green.  No one had expected it to happen, but by killing the goddess of dreams, my father took over her domain.  He had become god of dreams and nightmares.  Mother was unsure what to think about this at first as his high priestess, but it didn’t take her long to decide that she would stand by him no matter what happened.  </p><p>Now having power over the realm, father sent everyone back to the mortal plane, or rather, woke them up.  Lying in the dirt beside them was another puzzle box, this one brimming with the power of Magnor.  Like the other, this one too contained a pixie, though this one spoke no prophecy.  Instead, it relayed a snippet of a conversation between Magnor and Azulia, the contents of which are lost on me.  Regardless, it too had a fragmented mind just like the first so the group could learn very little from it.  </p><p>Some amount of time passed, and they encountered Silenus again as well as a man named Casper who was known amongst some circles for dying repeatedly and never staying dead.  All that Silenus had to share was more riddles, which mother found utterly infuriating.  I don’t think she had ever hated another more.  </p><p>She felt marginally better about Casper only in that she did not trust him as opposed to loathed him.  He had apparently been alive at the time when father first came to the mortal plane, when he was still an evil entity, so mother assumed that Casper had been his enemy.  Casper travelled with the group for a period of time.  How long, I do not know. </p><p>It matters not however, as more important events occurred.  Coming from the top of the mountain where the monastery of the Star Gliders was, there was a flash of rainbow light and a vaguely dragon-shaped shadow in the sky.  It did not take a genius to figure out what had happened.  Their worst fears had been realized: the dragon’s egg had hatched.</p>
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